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Everything is not fine...

Lured by the cell shaded
visuals of this game I decided to give it a try. A third-person action
adventure game with a promising graphical and selectively used style
should be a formula for a unique game. El Shaddai is a unique game for
sure, but the execution of the premise is painful to experience. This is
hands down one of the worst games I have ever played, and I finished
the experience on a very sour note and due to its absence in difficulty.
The lack of challenge is confusing, and the zero sense of
accomplishment is bewildering. Having rented the game on GameFly I could
not believe this was actually a retail release at some point in the
past, when the entire game feels like a GDC demo ( Game Developers
Conference - for those at home ) to experiment on different
technologies. Needless to say the game did terrible in sales, and it is
not even a 'passable' game by any means. I strongly suggest avoiding
this game even if you have all the time in the world to play mindless
videogames. You'd have more fun waiting for The Rapture to happen...

PRESENTATION:
El Shaddai is a good looking game...and that's about the only good
thing that you can take from it. Narrated by the angel Lucifel ( not a
typo ) you embark on your quest while he talks on his cell phone ( !?? )
to God describing your quest to him. Although the main protagonist,
Enoch, does not talk or show emotions throughout his journey to stop the
four archangels in his Diesel jeans. The cell shaded visuals are
enticing, but the repetitive nature of them present a serene atmosphere
that leads you to a boring walk through in each level. The saving grace
of the game in my opinion, is the successful and seamless transition
from 3d to 2d gameplay and viceversa, in different areas. It was a well
implemented idea and although mainly executed in platforming sections,
it is something that can be looked at as a success in terms of
innovation and appeal. However, this good spot on a highway full of
holes merely reduces the impact of the incredibly bumpy ride you go on.
The story is suspect to say the least...

GRAPHICS:
Good. The biggest draw to El Shaddai is its cell shaded graphics and
comic style atmospheres. Where newer games try to make everything look
realistic, this game goes for a more artistic flow in terms of colors,
schemes, and palettes. The monotony of the schemes start to hinder the
experience after traversing through a level, but this falls entirely on
the level design, which is a subject to be touched on later. Case in
point if walking through the levels were shorter the schemes would not
dull traversing them as much. The abstract theme is prevalent throughout
the game and it is emphasized in the graphics and the looks of the
environments, but it also lends to serious weird moments and total
disconnect for even hardcore gamers.

SOUND: Poor. The
musical score is set to make a soothing effect on the gamer, and
sometimes achieves its purpose. Overall, however, sound does not play a
part in the game for several reasons. Music stops at times and leaves
you to wander with just foot steps effects, coupled with the long
travesty of the levels, with the same color palettes more over, dulls
the gameplay severely. The game is narrated by the angel in a black suit
named Lucifel, voiced by Jason Isaacs, and it does an incredible job at
annoying the heaven out of you with 'Everything's fine' the twenty five
thousand times he says that throughout the game. Describing your
journey to God over a cell phone, no less, your hero does not have the
ability to speak, so you are left with his account of the story. This
creates a disconnect with Enoch, the main character, as we cannot hear
or see what he feels or would say when blindly thrown into this heavenly
journey. Sound effects are better compared to the musical score and the
voice acting, but are few sometimes because the game offers little in
weaponry to clash, but enemies and bosses are diverse enough to contrast
this setback with their own attacks and overall noises. In some cases
the music turns laughable when facing bosses that like to moon walk, for
example, or when the score is repeated heavily when facing similar
enemies and bosses.

GAMEPLAY: Very poor. Although Enoch is a
B-list mirage of Dante from Devi May Cry, he is a seriously lame copy
of him. At any point you can ever feel a connection to the protagonist,
made even more difficult by his apparent inability to speak and just
following orders from a guy on a cell phone wearing a black suit. Link
is yet to speak to this day but you relate to the character and his
sense of duty somewhat in the journey he takes on and when he is
fighting hordes of enemies by the grunts he sometimes unleashes when
attacking or taking damage. The pacing of the game is tedious, as there
is a lot of running around facing no enemies at all, just
straightforward walking without any platforming either. Their intent was
to amuse you with the environment, but the effect is rather dull and
boring instead. You start off unarmed in the game and joggle between 3
weapons that you can steal off your well below average enemies, which
are more related to insects that you can find in your back yard. There
is no skill necessary to defeat them either, just patience. Combo system
is super simple and is a bad version of cool fighting systems in more
prevalent games in the same genre, although at some point with enough
consecutive hits you have an ability that inflicts more damage on your
foe but is still a laughable super ability to possess. The platforming
in the game is highly forgiving, even if you fall you do not die just
get restarted at the closest point, yet some vertical platforming
sections are tedious to achieve due to the annoying camera angles and
the lack of control of the character.

LEVEL DESIGN:
Poor. The entire game feels like a demo designed to show off
technological aspects that could be used in gaming. I can't take any
more than that from the highly disconnected and unfinished levels of El
Shaddai. The 2d platforming sections of the game are the better
conceived and designed areas and the seamless transition from that into
the 3d realm is an honest achievement. Throughout the game the sense of
place is wary, whereas you have no idea where in fantasy land could this
ever exist, - some castle- some forest- some desert- nowhere in your
mind can you place your character in the settings he is thrown into much
less with the connection you never engage with him. A string of
walkways in space is cool to see but once the entire level consists of
that you start scratching your head a bit. There is a motorcycle
sequence in a well built modern city somewhere that places Enoch well
and it is the only 'believable' setting you can actually relate to and
feels engaging. The rest is a mash up of levels of someone high on
Ecstasy really, with one level emphasizing the dullness and boring
aspect of the game with a platforming amalgamation in a greyish
atmosphere.

BEASTIARY: Terrible and atrocious. Possibly the
biggest junk over garbage job that can ever exist. The issue here is
not a problem in variety, which plagues some games in the genre, but the
type of variety supplied. Boss fights include, but not limited to,
charging pigs, giant ant, beetle like beings, something that resembles
the man region, etc...just a joke of enemy / boss design which has
nothing to do with coming down from Heaven into a fantasy world of some
sort. No demons, no evil angels, no corrupt humans appear anywhere. The
zero difficulty helps tolerate this incredible flaw, even though I had
plenty of what IS that moments when facing new enemies and bosses. The
giant ant towards the end is basically the only real threat in the game,
and the only time I ever died from facing a foe. The rest was mistimed
platforming.

DIFFICULTY: Very poor to Zero. A flat out very
easy game. Even without any HUD on screen to let you know your health
or items or anything info about what is going on at all the game is a
cake walk. This bores the experience obviously, and the sense of
achievement is zero. You will be left with more questions on why did I
play this game more than anything.

LASTING APPEAL: Nothing.
The only recollection from this game is just that. Very close to a
complete waste of time, this game does not merit a first play through
much less a second one.

LAST THOUGHTS: Normally I respect
people who tryout new things but this game is a complete fail. Do not
play this game in your life and if you somehow feel that you like this
game then I truly pity your soul.